Joey sat
on the rooftop of the school, thinking over Pegasus's
tournament.
If he entered – if he could find a way to enter
– he would have to face top-ranking duelists from all over the
world, and he hadn't been playing for long. It would be a long
shot, but if he could, he'd participate in this tournament for
Serenity's sake.
"Joey? What are you doing up here?"
Joey
turned his head and saw Yugi. "Hmm?"
"What's with
you?"
"Ah, nothing. I'm just thinking about a whole lot
of stuff." Joey turned his head back to look at the sunset.
"Yugi...you do know that I care about your gramps, right? I mean,
he taught me about the Heart of the Cards." Joey knew that the
Heart of the Cards was an important faith he needed as a duelist.
Believe in your deck, and your cards will always come through for
you.
"Of course I know."
"I mean it! One way or
another, I'll help you beat Pegasus."
Yugi nodded,
trusting his friend's words. He walked over and sat down next to
Joey, watching the sunset too. "That really means a lot to m, Joey.
I'm glad we're friends."
"Remember the first time we
met?" Joey said, his heart filling with pride from Yugi's
comment.
"I'll never forget it! It was all because of the
Millennium Puzzle..." Yugi looked down at his Puzzle, which was
hanging in its usual place around his neck. "The way Grandpa
explained it to me, the Puzzle was originally found in some Egyptian
ruins. My grandpa gave it to me and kind of dared me to solve it."
Yugi took the Puzzle in his hands and held it fondly. "It was the
most incredible thing I've ever seen! As soon as I touched it, I
knew it was special. I made a wish on the Puzzle; I asked it to give
me a real friend. And I think the Puzzle came through for me. That
was when I met up with you and Tristan. Although you sure didn't
act like my friends at first!"
Joey laughed. "You mean
when we were playing keep-away with the Millennium Puzzle? It was for
you, man! We just wanted to toughen you up so you could stand up to
the real bullies. We were only teasing ya!"
"Teasing?"
Yugi remembered the hurtful moment when he had been on the floor,
Joey glaring down at him with a mean stare. "You took a piece of
the Millennium Puzzle and threw it out the window! And I was the one
tried to help you guys out when that bully picked on you!"
"He
was a mean one, alright..." Joey recalled the painful incident with
Demetrius. He swore he could still the bruises he got from that time,
even though it was so long ago. "You stood up for us, Yugi, and
I'll never forget that. Because of you, we got that moron expelled!
And Tristan and I learned what it was like to have a true
friend."
"Well, at least you retrieved the lost Puzzle
piece. If you hadn't done that, I could never have solved the
Millennium Puzzle."
Joey remembered all that he had done in
the past and felt ashamed of himself. Then he remembered his apology
to Yugi. That was the day he changed for the better. "The truth of
the matter is: you're the best friend I've ever had."
"Yeah!"
Yugi's smile disappeared for a moment. "It's too bad you can't
go with me to rescue Grandpa..."
"Don't worry. Somehow,
someway, I promise, we'll do it together!"
"Together?"
Yugi looked up at Joey, his smile reappearing.
"You bet!
We're a team, Yugi!" Joey knew he truly meant all that he was
saying.
"But how can you go without an invitation?" Yugi
asked.
Joey's mind immediately started plotting. "Hmm..."
